Your Favorite Inefficient and Obsolete Guns

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I have had fun with 410 shotguns, 410 slugs specifically. Deer hunting in a slug only state with a lever-action left me looking for an 1889/1901 10ga or 12 gauge or one of the 410 lever-action shotguns from Marlin or Winchester. I ended up with a Winchester 9410 and hunted everything from doves to deer with it for several years.
 
Any old military bolt action. The longer the barge-pole the better. My Lee-Enfield is now a 107 years old. With reasonable care it should easily make another 107 with no decline in function. Hopefully, I’m good for another 30. It would be fascinating to be able to see it’s history after I’m gone. I’m guessing it ends with some kind of government seizure and destruction.
 
commygun

It would be fascinating to be able to see it’s history after I’m gone. I’m guessing it ends with some kind of government seizure and destruction.
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That being your concern maybe you should see about donating it to some history or military museum. That way (hopefully), it will be on display for future generations to learn more about what a 100+ year old Lee-Enfield was and how it might have been used in WWI.
 
I guess my hammerless coach gun. Obsolete, yes, but absolutely intimidating.
My 9mm derringer. Still light and small, easy to carry.
An old FN-1900- not that inefficient or obsolete JMB design.
 
Al-jim19 said:
Your Favorite Inefficient and Obsolete Guns
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So far, still my Ruger Bearcat Shopkeeper.

It is obsolete technology and has too short of an ejector, which makes unloading full length .22 LR cases an extra slow and inefficient process. Shooting .22 shorts in it alleviates that issue though.

I took it out shooting again last week with it up against my CZ75 PCR and RM380. The Bearcat was still the most fun of the three.
 
I personally think that the OP sets a pretty high standard for efficient and modern when he includes .38 Special DA revolvers - especially Smith and Wesson - in the category of inefficient and obsolete. There are so many .38 Special DA revolvers being made today by a wide range of companies from S&W to Taurus to Colt to Rock Island and Windicator that they don't really fit the description of obsolete. The Ruger LCP holds 6 rounds of a cartridge design that's not as powerful as most .38 Special loads, yet I don't think most people would call it either inefficient or obsolete. It is minimalist, though, which fits the needs of a lot of people. The J frame Smiths are the same deal - a minimalist small handgun that's more powerful than the .380 LCP's. Anything bigger than a pocket size pistol would be inefficient many folks. As for larger .38's, they can be the best gun for people who don't shoot much, but need a gun for home defense that won't require the difficult process (for some) of racking a slide or risk limp wristing or dealing with excessive recoil.

But using those guidelines (old = inefficient and obsolete) I guess I'd say the Winchester and Marlin lever actions chambered in pistol rounds are probably the funnest things to shoot, along with the K framed size revolvers.
 
Jim NE said:
I personally think that the OP sets a pretty high standard for efficient and modern when he includes .38 Special DA revolvers - especially Smith and Wesson - in the category of inefficient and obsolete. There are so many .38 Special DA revolvers being made today by a wide range of companies from S&W to Taurus to Colt to Rock Island and Windicator that they don't really fit the description of obsolete. The Ruger LCP holds 6 rounds of a cartridge design that's not as powerful as most .38 Special loads, yet I don't think most people would call it either inefficient or obsolete. It is minimalist, though, which fits the needs of a lot of people. The J frame Smiths are the same deal - a minimalist small handgun that's more powerful than the .380 LCP's. Anything bigger than a pocket size pistol would be inefficient many folks. As for larger .38's, they can be the best gun for people who don't shoot much, but need a gun for home defense that won't require the difficult process (for some) of racking a slide or risk limp wristing or dealing with excessive recoil.

But using those guidelines (old = inefficient and obsolete) I guess I'd say the Winchester and Marlin lever actions chambered in pistol rounds are probably the funnest things to shoot, along with the K framed size revolvers.
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A large frame .38 (that competes with .357) is nothing like a j frame .38. A 642 weighs 14 oz. a model 10 weighs 34oz. For that weight you can have a .357 that objectively gives you more. It’s not even a contest.

I’m not saying a .38 won’t basically do the job, just that it’s been surpassed in a measurable way by other choices.

An old car will basically do the same job as a new car, but the handling probably wont be as good, gas mileage will be worse, and comfort may suffer. Usually old guns vs new ones are kind of the same.
 
M1 carbines and sxs shotguns.

You can't put a scope on an M1 carbine very easily. It's a ghost ring or nothing. SxS shotguns are turn of the century. Not last century, the one before that. About all they're good for is shooting upland game without steel shot. Nobody uses them for anything else.

I have both and I hardly ever shoot either one anymore. I still like to drag them out of the safe and remember the good times though.
 
Side lock percussion rifles, and 32 caliber pistols. Both are obsolete and both just feel right. My s&W 32 long will be the first centerfire gun my girls ever fire. I also like 38sw but the odd bore size aggravates me.
 
I don't intend to step on toes, but from my perspective, here are some of my guns that are obsolete and inefficient that I still really like.

I like my Beretta 92FS. Why is it obsolete/inefficient? It's big and heavy for a 9mm and it came out three decades ago--and even then it was based on an earlier design that has been around without much modification for many more years than that. It's a good shooter, and at the range big and heavy are actually positives.

I like my CZ75B. Yes, it's been updated to the B model, but the basic design is within a few years of being half a century old. And no matter how you look at it, an all-steel 9mm is pretty inefficient from a weight/performance standpoint. But it's an excellent shooter and lots of fun at the range.

I have a couple of Swedish Mausers that are way older than I am. Still fun shooters even if they are very old and very long by modern standards. You can get about the same performance from much lighter, shorter guns these days, so they're not very efficient. But I won't be getting rid of them anytime soon.

And I have a cap & ball revolver--a Ruger Old Army. Yes, about as modern a design as you can get in cap and ball, but still an obsolete design overall and very inefficient by just about any reasonable standards. Also fun.
 
Cap & Ball revolvers. Specifically, the Colt 1860 Army .44. There was a beautiful one on page 1 in this thread .... I have one with a fully fluted cylinder which is just a "tad" nicer.
 
3039.jpg
1908 pocket hammerless in 380. It's big and heavy compared to today's pocket 380s...but really, from a design standpoint...not too terribly different. Can't beat it for old school cool

I'd take the Colt over this modern gem...that's about the same size and a few ounces heavier
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I consider my Ruger Single Six Convertible "inefficient" by today's standards. It has a six-shot cylinder that has to be loaded and unloaded one round at a time. But it's still one of my favorite field carry guns ... especially with the .22 WMR cylinder.

Some of the guns listed here are obsolescent, but not obsolete! While there may be more modern and efficient models, most of the originals still accomplish the purpose for which they were designed.
 
Obsolete is relative. Some think the 1911 is obsolete; some would vehemently disagree.

If old = obsolete, my favorite would be my Auto 5’s. When sprung properly and the friction pieces are set correctly these are not shoulder-busters-they are pretty gentle shooters. It was groundbreaking in its day, and I like that JMB considered it his most successful design.
 
I guess that would be my H&R Sportster in .22 LR,,,
Also my Handi-Rifle in .357 Magnum..

HR-Both.jpg

It's probably the least precise shooter out of all my .22 rifles,,,
The break-open action is impractical for bench use,,,
And the hammer means a high scope mount.

But for standing off-hand it's just fun,,,
I like having to thumb back the hammer to cock it,,,
I also get a small giggle when I eject the empty over my shoulder.

It's slow shooting characteristics were perfect during the Obama ammo shortage.

I just have a fondness for the old gal.

Aarond

.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
M1 Garand.

Too heavy, too powerful, limited magazine capacity, vulnerable to op-rod damage with hunting loads, relies on flimsy steel clips to run right, and it will try to take your thumb off if you're not careful.

Also more fun than just about anything else you can do with clothes on.:D
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I second this one. Though I've been to a rifle range where the Garand did have an advantage over more modern rifles - everything else they imposed a three-round maximum load at any time. However once you demonstrated basic proficiency with a Garand you could load a full en bloc clip. I rather enjoyed sustaining a higher rate of fire than anyone else could - with a rifle old enough to retire! :)
 
Gerand, M1 carbines, lever actions(winchester/ savage etc), single actions, most any gun that was in a sears wish book for 1/10 its current value. Obsolete and inefficient means it isnt commonly made now so it usually makes for good collector value actually.
 
M1 Carbine. But just for fun. Someday I will be able to afford one.
 
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.32 acp anything.
But I find them practical! I wish more .380 mouse guns were available in .32. Even if .380 is better on paper, for mouse gun size I shoot I shoot a .32 much better. (shot placement, yadda yadda)
 
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